Economy of Grenada

The economy of Grenada is based upon agricultural production (nutmeg, mace, cocoa, and bananas) and tourism. Agriculture accounts for over half of merchandise exports, and a large portion of the population is employed directly or indirectly in agriculture. Recently the performance of the agricultural sector has not been good. Grenada's banana exports declined markedly in volume and quality in 1996, and it is a question to what extent the country will remain a banana exporter. Tourism remains the key earner of foreign exchange.

Grenada is a member of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) issues a common currency for all members of the ECCU. The ECCB also manages monetary policy, and regulates and supervises commercial banking activities in its member countries.

Grenada also is a member of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM). Most goods can be imported into Grenada under open general license but some goods require specific licenses. Goods that are produced in the Eastern Caribbean receive additional protection; in May 1991, the CARICOM common external tariff (CET) was implemented. The CET aims to facilitate economic growth through intra-regional trade by offering duty-free trade among CARICOM members and duties on goods imported from outside CARICOM.

GDP: purchasing power parity - $360 million (1999 est.)

GDP - real growth rate: 5% (1999 est.)

GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $3,700 (1999 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.7%
industry: 15%
services: 75.3% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 1.3% (1998)

Labor force: 42,300 (1996)

Labor force - by occupation: services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% (1997)

Budget:
revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997)

Industries: food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction

Industrial production growth rate: 0.7% (1997 est.)

Electricity - production: 105 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

Electricity - consumption: 98 million kWh (1998)

Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (1998)

Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (1998)

Agriculture - products: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, maize, vegetables

Exports: $26.8 million (1998)

Exports - commodities: bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace

Exports - partners: Caricom 32.3%, United Kingdom 20%, United States 13%, Netherlands 8.8% (1991)

Imports: $200 million (1998)

Imports - commodities: food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel (1989)

Imports - partners: United States 31.2%, Caricom 23.6%, United Kingdom 13.8%, Japan 7.1% (1991)

Debt - external: $89.2 million (1998)

Economic aid[?] - recipient: $8.3 million (1995)

Currency: 1 East Caribbean dollar (EC$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates: East Caribbean dollars (EC$) per US$1 - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976)

Fiscal year: calendar year

See also : Grenada